


100-Word Stories on the Life and Love of Richard & Camille, Series#1

by PoolexBordey_Forever



Series: A Hundred 100-Word Richard and Camille Drabbles Challenge [1]
Category: Death in Paradise
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hilarity, Loneliness, Love, Misunderstanding, Self-Reflection, Shippy, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 22:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5023315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoolexBordey_Forever/pseuds/PoolexBordey_Forever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little fragments on the life and love between Richard and Camille. Some hilarious, some hopeful, some sensual, some heartrendingly sad, but most, if not all, form part of a bittersweet, perfect whole.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. CRUSH

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Here's my contribution to the ever growing list of Richard and Camille DiP fanfiction stories on this site. My apologies in advance if my note is longer than the actual chapters. This is the first time I'm writing drabbles based on a TV series. To tell you the truth, it's not the usual genre I write fanfiction for and so, I'm a little bit hesitant and uncertain. But I like this series and the Richard and Camille pairing so I wanted to at least give it a shot. Also, I was inspired by the prolific fanfic authors of this fandom. The sheer diversity of their work is brilliant and the quality of their writing is top notch, how could one resist not joining in the fun? 
> 
> Anyway, I chose to do 100-word stories, partly because I'm lazy and partly because I lack confidence. But mostly, I'm a bit lazy and out-of-practice, so I need to jumpstart my writing with these. LOL My grand plan is to write a hundred 100-word drabbles on Richard and Camille, all based on random prompts. So here's the first 20. I thought it was going to be easy, but oh boy, it's like squeezing gold nuggets out your noggin'. I now know what Stephen King meant when he wrote: “Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.” Well, I've gone Sweeney Todd on these and packaged them inside tiny 100-word boxes for you, me lovelies. I hope you enjoy them. :)
> 
> P.S. In some chapters, I've included whole dialogues from some DiP episodes (which I italicized), they're not part of the 100 count. I just placed them so people will know what I was referring to. The drabble can be cryptic and incoherent at times, so I need to anchor it to something to give it context. Thanks. [TIP: Click on the Entire Work tab and you'll have the entire 20 chapters in one page. They're not long so you won't have to scroll endlessly.]

He heard the slight shuffling of sand and the creak of his veranda’s low steps. He knew who it was but he didn’t want to seem too eager, too happy. So he resisted the urge to look up from his book, urging himself to wait. Yet he heard nothing. He furrowed his brows and panic settled at the pit of his stomach. He jerked his eyes up quickly. Green eyes locked with brown. She leaned against the doorway, motionless, save for a smile, both kind and teasing. His breath hitched just a little at the sight of her. He scowled.


	2. WHISPER

It happened so fast. Amid the din of the hurricane outside, she heard a crash and a thud. She saw him sprawled on the floor, unconscious and bleeding. She had the mind to close the heavy door first. She kneeled down, more worried than angry at the stupid Englishman before her. “You are a stubborn idiot,” she berated him quietly as she examined him for more injuries. Satisfied that he didn’t crack his skull open, she attended to his bleeding temple. Got out his handkerchief and pressed on the wound quite hard. He flinched. “Serves you right for making me worry!” 


	3. JEALOUSY

_Why are you protecting her?_

_I’m not protecting her._

_Just because she’s attractive it doesn’t mean she’s telling the truth._

_Is she attractive? I haven’t..._

_You were ogling her like a schoolboy._

_Of course not._

_Yeah you were._

_I don’t ogle._

_You WERE._

_This is ridiculous. I was just asking her some straight forward questions..._

_SHUT UP!_

 

He couldn’t figure out why she was being so difficult all of a sudden. Sure, his attention lapsed momentarily. Who wouldn’t? That woman’s breasts were distracting. She was wearing a yellow bikini top like a beacon for god’s sake. “Ow!” a branch smacked him on the face as if to punish him for his impure thoughts. She gave him a hasty look but kept walking. He unwittingly caught her pout as she moodily brushed dark curls off her shoulder and realized something exhilarating. His lips curled into a small smile. He remained silent. It wouldn’t do to exasperate her further.


	4. SECRET

“Can you keep a secret?” she asked him. He nodded. “I kinda like it. And THIS...was nice.” There she said it. Her secret was out and she wondered how he would run with it. Or run away from it. She knew only too well the emotionally repressed Englishman, sitting beside her, won’t be able to handle it if she said something honest and direct. So she decided on being cryptic. She quickly turned away from him to hide the flush on her face. As she drifted off to sleep, she hoped he would be brave enough to face it.


	5. HAUNTED

He knew that look. It had been some time since it was etched on her face. Her brown eyes flashed grief, anger and pain in a loop. She wasn’t aware that he knew. He knew she hid it behind forced smiles and playful tone. Sometimes when she’s alone, her eyes revealed and remembered. He, in turn, felt the sheer wretchedness of it all. He wanted to gather her in his arms and soothe her. But his reticence prevailed. So he spoke the only language they shared: he sought her eyes, gently holding her gaze as if to say, "I'm here."


	6. KISS

She didn’t see it coming. A frat boy came to the station and asked to see her. Puzzled, she stood up from her desk to meet him. She extended her hand but he yanked her toward him and kissed her full in the mouth. “Oi!” Richard shouted, his chair clattering. It lasted only a few seconds as she fluidly dispatched the offender in one fell swoop, tempering her anger lest she overdoes it. The young man clutched his family jewels in pain and crumpled to the floor. Richard looked at her, mouth agape, amazed, intimidated all in the same breath. 


	7. MIDNIGHT

“Want some company tonight?” she asked, all nonchalant and straightforward. It was perfectly a legitimate offer. She was worried for him. But something about the way he stuttered his thanks made her think she should have held her tongue. The guilt made worse by the subtle movement of his eyes from her to Dwayne. Was that a flicker of hope and disappointment? She wondered. Alas, Dwayne being Dwayne ruined the moment and the intention. Was she disappointed? She smirked and sighed a little. 'Might as well make the best of the evening,' she thought and teased him about his pyjamas.


	8. RED

There was red all over the place. His senses cringed at the sight. He thought he’d be desensitized by now after so many murder scenes he’d witnessed. But this one’s different. It wasn’t quiet, dead red. It was loud, obnoxious and screaming. He resisted the urge to get away. He was a man of his word. Once he committed to do something, he would do it. So he closed off everything. Focused on the book he planned to read. Christ, even the bloody book was red. He sighed, resigning to his fate. Until she arrived, radiant and resplendent in red. 


	9. INTENSE

She knew she was fierce. Too fierce for her own good. At times, he could be too pompous, too difficult, too pedantic, too everything for HIS own good. She wondered what it would feel like to simply sock him in the face or hit him upside the head. Or beat him unconscious. Only the threat of insubordination, suspension and dishonorable discharge kept her at bay. God, he’s the only man who could elicit such violent thoughts in her. She marveled at how she managed to work with him. Yet sometimes, her ferocity transforms to passion with a single lopsided smile.

 


	10. POETRY

'She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies.' He couldn't help reciting to himself as he casually eyed her, sauntering into the station. 'And all that's best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes.' She sat on her chair unceremoniously, tired from interviewing a witness. She looked up and gave him a brief smile as she turned on her PC. He quirked his eyebrows in response, careful to keep his face stoic.'The smiles that win, the tints that glow.'  "Drinks after work?" she asked, interrupting his mantra. Verses forgotten, he nodded.


	11. OPTIMIST

Hope springs eternal. But right now, she found it hard to pull it out of the deep recesses of her heart. This push-and-pull with him made her weary and tired. What did she hope to achieve anyway? Ah, to make him feel welcome, to open him up to new experiences, and perhaps, like her island a little bit more. Yet along the way, she hoped for one more thing— the damn near impossible. She sighed, gave him a cursory glance and looked away. What she didn’t notice was he gazed back, eyes filled with hope and something else.


	12. SQUABBLE

'I’m such a self-centered git,' he thought. There was no getting around it. He sensed she was furious but he let his mouth run off where it shouldn’t. Fury turned to hurt turned to defeat. And before he knew it, she was walking out into the rain away from him. “Camille?” She turned, gave him a glum smile and looked up in the sky with eyes shut tight. His heart broke into a million pieces. He ran double time, quickly hoisting his umbrella over her. “You’ll catch your death of cold,” he said clearly remorseful, beseeching her forgiveness.


	13. DOUBT

The revelation she made of her father sounded nonchalant and flippant. She wondered if it was the right thing to do, putting her confidence in her superior officer like he was a close confidante. The young woman who seduced the rich landowner in their case triggered something in her heart. It shot through her consciousness, so foreign and jarring, it made her bristle. He noticed, of course. Working in proximity with him all day long had that disadvantage. She cannot escape it. So she told him, revealing and hiding the true nature of her pain all at the same time.


	14. GULLIBLE

_ I suppose you want me to hold up my left hand and show you that my psoriasis has been miraculously cured.  _

  _What?_

  _I don’t believe it._

  _It worked._

  _No, it’s that one._  

 

It was rare for him to successfully ‘pull’ her leg. So he couldn’t help a victory smirk as he handed her a beer. She raised an eyebrow and faked a scowl. “Didn’t know Richard Poole can be such a joker.” He heard her say in a voice laced with mirth and teasing. He continued smirking as he took a swig of his beer. A snippet of memory came to mind, the light touch of her fingertips on his non-psoriasis hand. “Well, I couldn’t resist really. You’re adorably unsuspecting,” he quipped, too late to realise what he said out loud.


	15. TRUTH

“So what did you tell her?” she asked, stealing a glance his way as she negotiated the road ahead. She knew he disliked small talk during drives to work but she prevailed and got her way. He shrugged, “London is noisy, a mess. Like being in a bar fight mostly.”  She probed. “What else?” She felt his hard stare on her. “I used to think it was my local, the bitter cold, the beer in my hand...of belonging, of knowing who you are,” he monotoned. “Now...it’s not that anymore.” She shot him a look and saw him smiling.


	16. DRUNK

He mentally regretted coming for drinks but she insisted. La Kaz was crowded. A few rowdy tourists occupied the other table. Wasn’t it too early to be sloshed? Dwayne and Fidel sensed his anxiety, giving him a slight nod. They knew what to do. He spied her coming back with their beers. But a scuffle erupted behind her, knocking her down. He leapt to catch her. His two officers quickly rounded the drunk men. “Dump them in the cells!” he bellowed and turned to her, “You alright?” She nodded, shell-shocked. “Thanks.” Unconsciously, he pulled her close and felt relieved.


	17. CHOCOLATE

He annoyed her, and truth to tell she was getting sick of her game, but, god, he was different from the rest. She searched for some overarching reason for his appeal other than his cultivated indifference to her sexuality. So she shallowed her retort with her black forest. The sweetness clung to the roof of her mouth and she rolled her tongue around the cavity; she wanted to keep her lips together and smile through the effort but they came partly open. Just as well, because she saw him let out a little gasp. Take that, you totally clueless Englishman!


	18. LETTER

He could hardly sleep, wracked by a welling clamour in his chest. It was as if he was growing another pair of arms and hands within all of him, wanting to hold her, to clutch her tightly. Her name escapes from his lips and he sighed: What are you doing to me? He rose from his bed and sat at the table, by his books, with people like Eliot, Aeschylus and Fitzgerald at his elbow. He would write her a letter she would never read but the pen felt heavy, this precious feelings for her too relentless and utterly overwhelming.


	19. TEARS

“What’s the matter?” she heard him say with concern. She looked at him, confused and felt a dampness on her cheeks. She didn’t know she cried as she listened to the Eric Clapton song on her iPod. A ‘pop' song he said he listens to, after she scoffed at him for not knowing Beyonce. She shook her head and wiped her face. He hovered around her, unwilling to let go. Her heart clenched. His loneliness palpable. If only, he’d see how she tries so hard to embrace the whole him. But he couldn’t. So she just glared at him instead.


	20. AUTUMN

How long had he known her but not know her? His detective sergeant, his partner. Too self-centered, too wrap up in his own little world, he missed every opportunity to know her better. “Do you miss Paris?” he asked, wasting no time. She cocked her head, a teasing smile on her lips. “Well, do you?” he persisted. “Sometimes. I miss autumn in Paris. The changing colors. The fresh crispness of the cool air,” she said, wistful at the reverie. “Why do you ask?” Curious of his motive. He shrugged, “I just want to know.” Well, it was a start. 


End file.
